Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Hoboken calls for volunteers to City Hall

City of Hoboken announces:If you are able to SAFELY get to City Hall right now, we need volunteers to assist with shelters and other needs. Thank you! Please be safe.City update:

We are still looking for volunteers to help with shelters, delivering water to seniors, and other tasks. If you can SAFELY get to City Hall (2nd floor, Council Chambers...enter through Newark Street entrance), please lend a hand.Talking Ed Note: The City does not need people to bring anything with them. These are efforts to assist for people in immediate need for shelter and other needs.Water is reported to be safe in both Hoboken and Jersey City.Power outages widespread, NJ took the worst of it. From Gov. Chris Christie and AP:Restoration efforts for the more than 2.5 million homes and businesses in New Jersey that are without power could be a lengthy process. (Almost 230,000 in Hudson County have lost power.)

The state's largest utility, Public Service Electric & Gas, reports more than 1.4 million customers don't have electricity. PSE&G says Sandy was the largest storm in its history.

Jersey Central Power & Light has 965,297 homes and businesses without service. Most are in Monmouth, Ocean and Morris counties.

The utilities say they may not be able to get a clear picture of the damage until Wednesday.

Governor Christie says it will take months to address all the problems. He says the PATH system will take 7-10 days to function. Bridges and tunnels will be open soon.NJ Transit has "huge challenges" and the Governor add the Attorney General will be implementing plans with county prosecutors on law enforcement.

From PSEG:

-- Many of the outages were caused by falling trees and limbs, which bring down power lines. Downed wires should always be considered “live.” STAY AWAY FROM ALL DOWNED LINES. Do not approach or drive over a downed line and do not touch anything that it might be in contact with. To report a downed wire and other visible equipment damage, call 1-800-436-PSEG and tell PSE&G the nearest cross street.

-- To report a power outage, call PSE&G’s Customer Service line: 1-800-436-PSEG.